What changed, besides weight, after losing a lot of weight?

So much changed for me when the numbers on the scales started going down. I lost my 'invisibility cloak' with the weight and people seem to notice me now (particularly guys). I smile a lot more, I'm positive about life, confident, happier, healthier and braver than I was before. I try new things, love exercising and I'm not hanging out in the sidelines and watching life pass me by. There were so many things I'd shy away from because I was big. I wouldn't participate in sport or outdoor games and I hid whenever there was a camera around.

MaroneLotz wrote:

Would be interesting to know how you, your outlook on life, the things you now do, or even the people in your life changed after losing a lot of weight? ... besides the number on the scale, what else changed for you?

I feel so much better - less achy (other than what I cause to myself at the gym), more energy, to some degree I sleep better & am less depressed.

I'm more confident about what I can do physically, willing to try things I wouldn't have thought of before (just started jogging!), know my stamina has increased (so again, more confident about what I can do if I need to).

Since I've proven to myself that I'm able to do a long-term project which requires everyday dedication, work, long slow change, etc. I'm more confident that I can put the same characteristics to use in other ways.

And most amazing, I'm actually starting to be happy with how I look.

I feel pretty lol. I had felt unattractive for so many years,
I just assumed I'd still feel that way, only thin

Yes! That, exactly.

Bump.

Im stronger both physically and emotionally.

For me the question is most probably the wrong way around. Things changed which allowed me to keep losing , namely my whole attitude on health, fitness and who I am. Hanging around mfp , well more accurately, hanging around the right people on mfp, taught me that the biggest thing wrong wasn't the fat around my waste but the stuff between my ears. I used to look at sporty people and want to be them but I would try and do so by crash dieting and nothing else. The realization dawned on me that if I want to be sported I need to be sporty - it really is that simple. To me sporty means I engage in activity, I train and I learn about how my body works. Without this I would have just been a fat person wishing to be thin instead of a healthy fit person. I chose a sport - Triathlon, and I'm training now with a purpose. I am sure healthy people are not obsessed about losing weight but could be about their sport. For me now my sport goals are more important than my weight goals (although my weight goals are important to my sport goals :-). I am still a budding triathlete but I've entered a race and I'm now working towards this. I understand myself more as well. I like challenging myself because I realize I am not going to win anything so I've decided to enter a really hard one with the aim of winning by finishing :-) Without this transformation I would have behaved just like usual and I would still be over eating and getting even fatter than I was.

I became very active on my journey to lose weight, i took up running and going to the gym to the point where i work out 5 days a week. It gave me all this new-found confidence that I joined an amateur theatre group and act on stage (first play in 5 days time EEEK!!) As well as working full time, and being a mum, and all the fitness PLUS my theatre group, Im so busy, but i sleep well at night because of all the exercise. The only drawback I found is that I now cant abide lazy people. I used to be a lazy girl but now I know there is so much more to life and it actually bugs me when friends are missing out cause they want to sleep all day and watch tv the rest of the time! So Ive lost some friends!!!!

So many great results here! For myself, sweating and chafing less (gross I know, but true!), definitely the shoe size thing and I seem to be able to regulate my temperature better now my metabolism is fired up. I used to have cold fingers and toes all the time before, but now I don't seem to notice it so much.

I've lost about 100 lbs. Confidence increased. The way I felt about my body changed. I can run a lot, fast and for long distances. I enjoy it. I gained self control (sort of) over food. I can lift. I have a killer set of legs. I joined roller derby. I've set my sights on bigger and badder things. I became less afraid of being alone and doing things by myself, not that it wasn't an issue, I just have shut down all the anxiety that goes along with it. I learned to be my own advocate. Really there's not a whole lot of bad things that have happened since I dropped weight.

justaboat wrote: »

It seems that the more weight I lose, the more depressed I get (is this just me or do others feel this way?)

I wonder if some of that is due to hormone changes as our body attempts to regulate itself?

Sometimes I look in the mirror and although I am 30 lbs down, I don't see a huge difference. I still see the problem areas and although they don't look to be getting any smaller, my clothes are too big, so I know they are shrinking. I just can't see it yet.

I have more confidence, I feel better about myself, I feel more attractive, I feel like I can pick out a piece of clothing and actually have a chance of looking good in it (and it's not plus-sized), and....

I was able to get pregnant. When I was Obese, my period/ovulation was pretty much non-existent, and what I did get was completely untrackable.

I got to my first major goal (155 lbs) and we started trying as soon as I reached it. Got pregnant first time trying. My weight has been holding back my family plans for far too long.

Bonus is that I've gained a little more than half of what I did with my first child. At 32 weeks in my first pregnancy I was up 35 lbs (gained 45 total), at 32 weeks this time, I'm sitting at 16.6 lbs gained. The difference is staggering. I can't even imagine what pregnancy would be like for me if I still had all the weight on me.

I got a big confidence boost, and I am a little energizer bunny now. I am out most nights doing an activity of some sort or another. Of his third habit Covey asks, "What one thing could you do (you aren’t doing now) that if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference on your personal life?" I've known for years it was losing weight. It is only now that I have experienced continued success.

I have experienced the benefits I expected (increased stamina, greater mobility, higher esteem, no medications), and a few more besides (exercise is fun!). Yesterday out of the blue I got all social, chatting up everyone I met.

Hubby hasn't changed much as I have gone through this transformation, though he happily tags along with the healthier eating, and our marriage is fine. He liked me big, he likes me now. The change has not modified the power dynamics of our relationship.

I stopped thinking about what I eat all the time and started concentrating on the rest of my life.

Aleishia22 wrote: »

I'm in the process of losing weight and I already have friends telling me that they're not going to hang out with me anymore when I reach my goal because "I'll be too hot". They say it jokingly but I'm nervous that it may be true. Did anyone experience that? Am I going to lose friends because I'm not the " funny fat one" anymore?

I've only lost 25 of the 70 pounds I'd like to lose, but I've experienced the loss of at least one friend. The advice that "they were superficial, you don't need them, you're better off" only works in the long run.

I'm looking at it as the opportunity to practice self care. My closest friend in this city ignored my texts, unfriended me on facebook and apparently just rolls her eyes when my name is brought up. (Some background: we started losing weight together in August, she dropped out a few weeks later and is continuing to gain.) Rationally, I get why she did it. But it hurts more than you would expect.

There was a time that I would have buried my sorrows in alcohol, potato chips, and ice cream. Now, I'm exercising more and watching more comedies. This is how I want to cope with my heartaches from now on.

To the OP: I feel more energetic and healthier, plus I notice that there's muscle under this flab. I don't feel sexy, confident, pretty, any of that yet. I trust it will come. My depression was better until my friend "dumped" me, but now I feel back at square one. I cook more, but I've always loved cooking.